The Heavens Above
by Naisho
Summary: [AU] Konoha is a rogue aerial base Uchiha Sasuke accidentally trespassed upon. To pay for his freedom, he is forced to work for them…as a mercenary pilot.
1. Trespasser

**The Heavens Above**

By: Naisho

**Summary:** AU Konoha is a rogue aerial base Uchiha Sasuke accidentally trespassed upon. To pay for his freedom, he is forced to work for them…as a mercenary pilot.

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. Kaoru Shintani owns Area 88.

**Note:** This fic is inspired by Area 88 (I honestly think Saki Vashtar really resembles Neji! XD) but it is nowhere around the said series' plot! Because if it is, Naruto would be desperately trying to get back to Sakura and Sasuke will be tricking Sakura into marrying him. We wouldn't want that, now would we? As for the planes, you can find most of my info from **wwwDOTfighter-planesDOTcom**. I've become one big aviation fan because of this!

* * *

**Mission I. Trespasser **

Running and running and running more: he had been running for hours already and it doesn't seem like he'll be stopping anytime soon. Wood splinters embed his skin as he forces his way through the thick foliage. Leaves find their way into his wind-played hair. Vanity was forgotten and all that remained was chance – this one chance to escape, this one chance to choose, this one chance that the gods above have let him taste – don't let it be nothing but a second's taste!

The roar of engines and the scream of the wind cutting through the wingspans faded as his endless race took its toll. His limbs were aching, calves throbbing with pain. His mind keeps screaming, _Faster! Faster! Don't stop!_ and he complies without further thought, without further logic.

Sunshine glares at his skin and the blinding light finally reaches his eyes. He falters, pausing and stumbling in his steps. It was light, sunshine, and within each and every cave, the presence of that shine always signifies the end.

But never in His story (1).

Fear and nervousness enhanced his senses, catching that careful rustle of a bush and that light pounding on the ground. He steps forward, pace quickening with each sound he hears – may that be of a bird or the simple whisper of the wind. He runs once again, straight ahead just as he always did. God forbid, he may end up right where he started if he turns, like always, like before, like it will always be.

The sounds grew louder, grew thicker and more dangerous. He keeps on running, and faster still even though his body could not reach what his mind wanted him to do – to fly…away from this place, away from it all…just fly away.

All he could hear were the loud footsteps and the heavy clanking of metal, sliding and hitting each other: guns. And they always bring those things when a chase is given a chance. He never bothered to look back, to see the ones who were chasing him: old faces or that of different territories since the engines had died so long ago.

But he was still being chased.

Whoever these people were, they were not to be

trusted.

He could still hear the old faces calling him, pulling him back to those lies of a 'home' base – those voices that he could never know from the other. They were all mere murmurs of a single being he wished not to concern himself with. Calling and calling, that's what they always did. Saying his name again and again, never stopping, always in that monotonous and robotic tone.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

The light disappeared once again. He felt his legs give in to the sudden weight upon his shoulders. He could hear voices, voices he didn't know but all that was of no value as he was sent back into his cave, locked in without light.

The gods had cheated him yet again.

* * *

Cool air washed his face. Uchiha Sasuke slowly opened his charcoal eyes and focused on the first thing he saw – that which was pink and blurry. He swallowed a groan and resisted the urge to get comfortable. He had been captured so many times he was sure he was a master of this trick now. To make sound and movement only lessens your chance of escape. 

Once his sight cleared, he shut his eyes, took one long silent breath then peeked through half-closed eyelids. He was riding a military jeep but the ones who were driving it wore nothing but simple pilot jumpsuits, no uniforms, no ranks. He noticed the cold, rough metal wrapped around his wrists. Carefully, he tilted his head down where the sight of old and rusted handcuffs locked his hands together. He could easily break out of such ancient material but everything must be done in good time.

With his a part of an escape plan in mind, his eyes wandered to his future foes (2).

There were four people conversing within the jeep. A person with loosely tied long black hair was on the driver's seat. He never participated with the light-hearted conversations of the other three which meant he must be someone to look out for. Sasuke was having a hard time guessing if that person was male or female but he was not someone to be fooled by a person's back. From the strict and stiff position of the person, he voted that he was a guy, experienced with battles most likely and very serious. Sasuke would know how to handle this guy.

Beside the driver is another guy (he was sure of that) with hair tied up more for practicality than for style. His shoulders were slumped and his head drooped low, bopping to his chest ever now and then. He would drone out in a long murmuring voice every once and a while when a topic would be thrown at him but nothing more than a minute's hold. A couple of yawns from the person later, Sasuke concluded that this guy wasn't someone who'd enter battles. No need to worry about this guy.

Next, he turned to the pink-haired girl behind the previous guy. Just one look at her unreasonable hair color and Sasuke had her analyzed. She was very bubbly and probably a big gossip, considering her enthusiastic outbursts and sudden hushed tones. With her firm grip, Sasuke would've taken caution from her but one of her hands was resting on one of his knees. It doesn't seem like he'd have much trouble with this one.

The jeep gained a small earthquake which Sasuke quickly took as an opportunity to jerk his head slightly to his left where the last member of the group was sitting.

The person was undoubtedly a guy with his sharp eyes and almost fang-like canines. He had short shaggy hair and slightly yellow skin. He seemed like the typical gangster. Buff-looking but useful only when it comes to street fights not battles. To add to that, he had a loud and boisterous voice that could match howling monkeys in the jungle. His eyes lacked focus as well since he had been too busy with their petty conversation instead of watching over their prisoner – well, they all were but that would work on Sasuke's advantage so there should be nothing to worry about.

"We must have that road fixed soon. It's not good for Konoha to have such runways. I'll inform Tsunade-sama." The driver spoke for the first time, his voice monotonous and sharp. He shot a pale look at Sasuke through the mirror but the Uchiha's half-lidded eyes made him inconspicuous to the observer's eyes. "Sakura, Kiba, keep watch over the captive instead of blabbing senselessly like that. Shikamaru, do your work as a navigator."

The addressee raised a brow and lightly nodded though his head remained on his chest. "There's nothing to navigate about. It's a taxing lane. It's nothing but cement for miles."

Kiba laughed loudly and gave Neji a friendly slap on the back. His mouth was ready to blabber but Neji's intense glare sent him silent. "Yeah, yeah. No touching." He rolled his eyes but tucked his hands in his arms nonetheless.

Sakura giggled and put one hand over her mouth. "Don't worry about our captive, Neji-san." Sasuke felt a couple of squeezes on his knee, "He's well within my reach." She giggled once again but this one was high-pitched and pinched. "And speaking of our captive, don't you think he's kinda cute?" She leaned forward though her fingers never left the Uchiha.

Kiba and Shikamaru groaned simultaneously.

"I'll surely tell Ino about this! She'll freak out!" The pink-haired girl continued, growing more excited by the moment.

"Don't you ever get tired of doing that?" Kiba said, half-groaning and half-sighing. He massaged his head then rolled it exaggeratedly. "You're always – what do you call it again? Hinata-chan mentioned this to me before." He massaged the sides of his forehead, groaning.

"What?" Sakura tested Kiba with her strict glare, "Fangirling?" A brow rose, "And what's wrong with that? I'm sure Hinata-chan also does it. Every girl does. You're not girl nor gay if you've never fangirled in your whole life!" She made a straight punch at Kiba, her fist stopping mere centimeters from his face.

"We're here." Neji announced, pressing on the brakes hard and abrupt enough to send everyone in the jeep (except him) tumbling forward. "That's punishment for lack of discipline." He declared after setting his feet upon solid ground. He opened the back of the jeep to let Sakura, Kiba and the captive alight from the vehicle easier (3).

As soon as the back was opened, Sasuke took the initiative to escape. He dived, head first, towards Neji. He knocked down the Hyuuga, scattering his limbs all over the older man. He struggled a bit with the handcuffs then, with one big tug, he broke the chains, setting his hands free. Quickly, he stood up and made a dash away from the vehicle and into the nearest and darkest alley he could see but before he could far enough, he felt his legs fumble and he tumbled to the hard and dusted cement.

Without a second to waste, Sasuke stood up after kicking Neji's feet from his but he was quickly pinned down once again. He turned his head a bit and saw Kiba holding him down tightly. From the corners of his eyes, the Uchiha saw Neji standing up and sweeping away the dust and dirt that clung to his gray jumpsuit. He looked to his left and gave a nod. Sasuke felt the light pounding of footsteps on the cement. He hissed. He had yet again underestimated his opponents…but the battle wasn't finished yet.

Catching Kiba when he had lightened his hold of the Uchiha, he sprung back up and delivered a swift punch to his former captor's stomach. A surprise greeted him when his fist met open and ready palms instead of cloth and flesh. Kiba gave him a canine grin and muttered, "Always the stomach. Everyone always aims for the stomach."

Not to be beaten by such a rogue, Sasuke delivered a swift kick to Kiba's legs, knocking the guy down. He stomped on the guy's chest, earning a desperate gasp for air. With the loudmouth down, all he had to do was take care of the authority: Neji.

Uchiha Sasuke made a dash towards the Hyuuga, fists ready for action. Neji instinctively raised his arms to defend but instead of getting an impact, he felt himself falling to the ground: he was kicked on the legs. Reacting quickly, Neji placed his palms on the ground to soften his fall and deliver a side kick to the Uchiha's chest. He stood up straight and took on a low back stance with his hands formed as knives ready for action (4).

Sasuke spit on the ground and took on his own fighting stance, bouncing lightly for mobility. He made another lunge but he lost control of his speed when he felt a strong push on his back. For the third time that day, within unknown territory, somebody had made him eat their dust.

Furious at his new attacker, Sasuke stood up, eyes blazing with shame and anger. He leveled his fists to his chests and erected a back stance. He expected Kiba to be the one teaming up with Neji to disable him but instead, a blonde woman with well-developed breasts was towering in front of him. The woman was seething, Sasuke could tell, but why? He would soon find out.

Sakura was standing behind the woman with worried eyes darting between him, Kiba and Neji. "Tsunade-sama."

The woman raised a fist and brought it straight onto Sasuke's face. Even though Sasuke was fast enough to block it, the force was still strong enough to knock him down. Quickly, Tsunade sent a solid punch directly onto the captive's chest. Sasuke's breath hitched but he refused to cough for much needed air. With one quick neck chop, Sasuke was sent back to his cave to ponder, yet again, for his overestimation of his own power and underestimation of foes.

"Take him to jail. I'll deal with him later."

* * *

"Who in the world would use _rusted_ and _ancient_ handcuffs to bind a captive?" Sakura sent an uppercut breaking Kiba's cranium into dust. "That's like locking a person up in a cage and giving him the key!" she waved her arms furiously then paused. She turned to her current victim and inquired with hysteria, "You didn't give him the key, now did you? Sure, he's really cute but I'd rather not face Tsunade-sama's wrath." 

Kiba sat up, rubbing his chin. "Of course not! I'm not that stupid!" he crossed his arms and contented himself with sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Those handcuffs were the ones given to me, okay? Lee said it was the newest and best but it turned out to be the opposite." He grumbled, grinding his teeth, "And we all know who does those pranks."

"He'll be in big trouble with Tsunade-sama." Sakura sighed, almost feeling pity for the guy, "But then he's always in trouble with Tsunade-sama." She dropped onto the bench across Kiba, shoulders slacking.

A couple of people passed by that hallway. A few glanced at the two but gave no heed to their antics. It was normal to see those two like that.

Barks and soft footsteps resounded through the empty hallway. From one of the ends, a girl with short bluish black hair came jogging towards them. A small and scrawny dog accompanied her jogs with jumps and sprints. The girls eyebrows were knotted together, her pale lavender eyes – a twin of Neji's own – glassy with worry. She stopped in front of the two and put her palms on her kneecaps. She took a few deep breaths, "I heard about the captive! Neji-niisan told me he beat you up, Kiba!" her voice was soft, almost a whisper.

"WHAT! HE SAID THAT!" Kiba screamed. "Sure I got beaten up a little but he did as well!" he pointed a shaking finger at the girl, "Tell your itoko (5) to stop being an ass!" His attention went to the dog that jumped onto his lap as soon he started shouting. He gave the canine a tummy-rub, "Hey there, Akamaru! Sorry I couldn't bring you with me but Tsunade was being prickly about it."

"Oh, umm, I'll try to tell him that, Kiba-kun, even though I'm pretty sure I can't say it the way you do." The girl said silently.

Sakura smiled softly and waved at their visitor, "Hi, Hinata!" she tapped the seat beside her lightly, "Why don't you sit down? Ignore Kiba though. He's just sore about losing to our cute captive and being 'victimized' at the same time."

Kiba protested but, as Sakura herself said so, he was left ignored.

Hinata put a hand to her cheek, fingers absent-mindedly toying with her bottom lip, "What happened this time? Did you run out of gas?"

"No, Tsunade-sama banned that a long time ago. She said it cost too much." Sakura waved a hand, gesturing for a denial, "Kiba received a rusted handcuff – which is the reason why our captive got a good shot at his ass." The two girls giggled, "I'm pretty sure Tsunade-sama will ban that as well seeing the harm it could've caused. On the other hand, I'm sure Kiba will be punished along with it. He should've checked the cuffs before taking them."

"WELL, thanks for the support!"

"Don't worry, Kiba. I'll stand up for you when Tsunade-sama asks." Hinata assured the canine boy with a calm smile.

"Be thankful that Hinata-chan's so nice, Kiba!" Sakura commented. She shifted her attention back to Hinata, "He's just lucky today. He's on a scout so he's not here to face Tsunade-sama's wrath!" the pink-haired girl shook her head for effect and out of concern, "That Naruto and his pranks—"

"Hmm? What about Naruto and his pranks? You got victimized again?"

Sakura considerably paled. She jumped to the wall, looking like she got pasted on the cement and let out a shrill scream. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" (6)

Kiba jumped, almost squashing Akamaru's tail. "Jesus, I'm never gonna get used to Kakashi-sensei's sudden appearances and Sakura's screams." He grumbled his complaints to his dog. He sat down on the floor and Akamaru jumped onto his lap once again.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted. Half of his face was immersed in his infamous and notorious _Icha Icha Paradise_ novel. He moved his head from the book and smiled at the three through his face mask.

"Kakashi-sensei." Hinata bowed in the traditional Japanese way of greeting. It seemed that she was the only one who was unfazed by Kakashi's appearance. Being the one facing Sakura, she must've seen Kakashi coming and had her ears and pulse ready for the scream. Why she didn't warn Sakura – well, let's just say things are better left in the course of 'fate'.

"Naruto has tricked you guys _again_? I thought you would've at least been cautious about it. He's been doing that for _years_!" Kakashi giggled lightly – both for his little joke and the book he had resumed reading, "But then, Naruto is, by all chances, the god of all pranks!" he said proudly as though he was the one who had taught Naruto everything.

"Yes, that should be something _you_ know, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura grinned, a malicious glint appearing in her eyes, "Since you're Naruto's Number One Victim! The only person he manages to prank – and succeed at doing so – on a monthly basis!" she pointed an accusing finger at her senior.

The senior forced a light-hearted laugh. He gave them a smile and a nod, "Well, I should be going now. Tsunade-sama asked me to interrogate our new prisoner. We're still deciding whether to hang him, shoot him or simply let him rot in jail. He's quite a rowdy one, ne? Causing such a scene…like the time Naruto came." he closed the novel and tucked in under his arm.

"Except he wasn't trespassing at all." Kiba and Sakura said at the same time.

"He just believed he was." The older man sighed. "Okay! I'd best be going now!" he gave the three an informal salute and went on his way, skipping over Kiba and Akamaru on the way.

"Matte yo, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura stood up and raced towards Kakashi. She stumbled lightly over Kiba but managed to land safely behind her senior. "Could I come with you? Please? I wanna see the interrogation!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess you can wait outside. I don't think Tsunade-sama will let you in the interrogation room – even Naruto was banned."

The pink-haired girl just smiled in what seemed like content. All she wanted was to see their 'cute' captive. Of course there was that cursing and Naruto-ing (a.k.a. let-Naruto-do-his-pranks-to-them-ing) to be done if they ever deform his face but that's only in case of emergencies. Sakura twirled to wave and wink at Kiba and Hinata, "Ja! Later guys!"

* * *

The room was big enough to be a bedroom and square enough to be a cardboard box. It was washed with bluish white paint that was chipped off on the corners and the ceiling. There were dusty cobwebs on the angle of the floor and the walls and on the barely lighting fluorescent bulb above. From the ceiling, rust-colored marks made this room look like it had been flooded once. 

In the middle of the room, Sasuke sat on a wooden chair that was placed without thought in front of a table. The chair creaked every time he moved, which lead him to suspect the very same thing with the table since it was similar to the chair. On the left corner of the table was a metal desk lamp. Upon closer inspection, you'd see that the light bulb was broken and that the lamp itself is covered with faded burns. The plug was cut off the lamp. It was simply a useless thing.

"We had a few mishaps with that lamp. Apparently, one of our captives was a little on the _mental asylum sane_ side. We asked him were he came from and what made him come here and he went crazy. He grabbed the lamp and started hitting one of the interrogators on the head. Unfortunately, he was wearing metal handcuffs and when the damn started sparking, it sent volts and volts to that poor captive's skin. He was dead within minutes and our man was on a coma for a month." Tsunade appeared from behind Sasuke. She smiled, leaning over Sasuke's shoulder to grab the lamp. "Nobody bothered to change the lamp though. You can have it if you want." She put the burnt lamp on Sasuke's lap.

Sasuke looked at the lamp with scrutinizing eyes. He might be able to use this just in case he doesn't get through with this interrogation thing. It was only then that he noticed he wasn't handcuffed. He looked suspiciously at Tsunade. With that kind of person guarding him, who would need handcuffs?

"Oh, it's not rigged or anything. I've checked it lots of times. The only thing it's useful for is suicide. Or you could treat it as a souvenir from Konoha!" Tsunade laughed, giving Sasuke light punches on the shoulder. The other remained silent. Frowning, she moved across Sasuke, past the table and pounded her fist upon the wooden surface, "Com'n! Lighten up, will you?"

Black orbs narrowed into a winter stare as they pierced through light chocolate ones. "Just who are you?" he hissed the sentence then cursed himself for actually getting the habit of hissing like that.

"Me? I'm Tsunade. Just Tsunade. World class gambler. Genuine beauty." She beamed at Sasuke, "Oh, and Chief-in-Command, if that's what you want to know."

_A woman? Commander of a base?_ , Sasuke frowned but decided not to say anything. He had witnessed this person's strength first hand and he was sure she was holding back. Sighing, he decided to get a little comfortable by placing his feet on the table and leaning onto his chair. "When is this interrogation gonna start?" he mumbled, swaying the chair to create a rhythmic squeaking and creaking.

"It was supposed to start an hour ago but your interrogator is a bit late." The commander said. Surprisingly, she's letting such irresponsible management of time slide through her fingers. "On a normal rate, we would start four hours after but given the current situation, he should be arriving now."

As if on cue, the door swung open and a silver-haired man came in. Sasuke would've taken that chance to escape but he got a glimpse of pink which he suspected to be _that_ girl. Uchiha Sasuke faces consequences, danger and death but never torture.

"Yo!" Kakashi saluted. He opened the book that was tucked under his arm and covered the half of his face that was already covered with a dark piece of cloth. He grinned at Sasuke – or so that was what the man's right eye was saying since the other was covered with a pirate's eye patch. He approached the captive, still flashing the book's cover to Sasuke's eyes.

_Icha Icha Paradise?_ , Sasuke squinted his eyes. He's never heard of that book before but then, he's never heard of anything except missions, requests and trainings.

"So, I should begin the interrogation now, right?" Kakashi looked at Tsunade who gave her nod of approval. The commander moved near the door and leaned beside it. Kakashi focused his attention on the captive.

Sasuke glared at the man's only eye, trying to lock the interrogator under his stare but it proved fruitless as Kakashi just peeked at him over that weird book. The silver-haired man smiled, meeting Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke felt himself stiffen and when Kakashi climbed on the table (with much difficulty, to add), crouching down in front of him, he felt himself turn into stone. It was supposed to be the other way around. He was the one who was supposed to set limits to that man by his glare.

"Boku wa Hatake Kakashi. Yoroshiku desu." Kakashi extended his hand over Sasuke's conveniently place feet.

Sasuke stared at the hand, wanting it to just wither away and die. Again his eyes met with Kakashi's. He wanted it to disappear and it seemed that his wish was coming true as Kakashi seemed to get farther and farther away from him…. And then…

**THUD! **

Tsunade and Kakashi doubled over, clutching their stomachs in aching laughter. Uchiha Sasuke had just fallen off his chair.

Embarrassed beyond death, Sasuke kicked one of the table's legs to attempt to save face through the misfortune of others. The table quickly gave away but Kakashi was prepared for this and instead, slid down the surface with ease and finesse, landing in front of the Uchiha.

"Gomen nasai." Kakashi giggled one last time then closed his book. He extended his hand to Sasuke, "It was the first time something like that happened in our interrogation. It's also the first time someone's been so calm and confident during one."

With his Uchiha pride dissolving into almost nothing but a grain of rice, Sasuke slapped the hand away and stood up by himself. He dusted off his clothes and stared at Kakashi. "When are we gonna start the _real_ interrogation?" he demanded. He grabbed the chair and sat at it with the backrest facing his front. He crossed his arms over the backrest and turned his head away from both Tsunade and Kakashi, "It's Uchiha Sasuke."

_Uchiha?_ , Kakashi quickly looked at Tsunade. "Oh, welcome to Konoha, Sasuke-_kun_!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand and shook it vigorously, "Has the _Icha Icha_ series reached you yet?" Kakashi shoved the book to their captive's face, "Let me buy you the first volume! It's _very educational_! Consider it a gift, ne?"

Sasuke frowned. He wasn't ready to be pressed about personal matters but he would much rather have those than these silly questions. How long were they gonna make him go through the merry-go-round? "Just ask me the correct questions."

"Do you have a girlfriend, Sasuke-kun? Or maybe you like boys instead? Have you studied martial arts or is all that fighting from the streets? Are you allergic to anything?" (7) Kakashi continued on with the nonsensical questions, poking and poking the brunette's shoulder.

Yet Sasuke refused to answer. He grabbed Kakashi's hand and gripped the man's wrist tightly, "Ask."

Kakashi paused for a moment, looking at Sasuke with such boredom. He sighed in defeat, "There were five planes hovering around Konoha territory a few hours before you were caught. You were found running away from the direction of those planes. Why were you running away? What do you want with Konoha?"

"Nothing." Sasuke answered, quickly, as though rehearsed, "I don't want anything from or with Konoha. I was being chased so it is only natural to run away and within a forest I am not familiar with, my best bet is to keep going forward." He visibly relaxed, "And I came here. Chased and caught."

To Sasuke, the following silence was heaven. To Kakashi and Tsunade it was work. Through looks and signals, they communicated with each other. It is never wise to talk with words within in interrogation room.

"Okay, Sasuke, we've decided!" Kakashi crouched down in front of Sasuke so that he was looking upward to meet Sasuke's eyes. "Trespassing upon without recognition or claim is still a crime equal of death. Given your current situation, we'll reconsider it." He stood up, hands placed on his hips, "To pay for trespassing into our grounds, we would require you to work for us."

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi and raised an eyebrow.

"I was thinking you can be a pilot. Haruno is outside this room right now. She'll tour you around." With that Tsunade opened the door and said their decision to Sakura. Squeals and high-pitched laughter entered the interrogation room. They could almost feel the earth quake and shake under Sakura's constant jumps.

Tsunade approached Sasuke and put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll talk about the details tomorrow. Familiarize yourself with the base and the staff first."

"You're supposed to fear me."

"Oh no, you're supposed to fear us." The commander smiled, steering Sasuke towards Sakura, "Because we can give you to the people you were running from." Tsunade closed the interrogation room. They could hear Sakura dragging Sasuke away from the room in obvious excitement.

"So…you think he's genuine?" Tsunade turned to one of her most trusted generals, "You should recognize an Uchiha well since Obito is…"

"Yeah, he is genuine. Obito talked about him once and if he's the real one, Naruto should know." Kakashi smiled and flashed his notorious book once again, "Nonetheless, we can't let him stay in _his_ hands.

"Yes, it'll be dangerous for Naruto, _too_ dangerous. We might lose him."

* * *

"Sasuke? Is that your name? That's so cool!" Sakura exclaimed, quickly taking her place on Sasuke's right arm. "I'm Haruno Sakura, by the way. Since I'm touring you around the base, does that mean we'd be working together soon?" she squealed, jumping up and down while still clutching the Uchiha's arm. 

Sasuke, on the other hand, had tuned her out and was looking around the base instead. Despite of his prejudice of Konoha (since his encounter with the commander), it seemed a well-equipped place hidden by fake façades. It was better this way though: to lie low and inconspicuous then become the hero when deemed appropriate. All that he needs to check are the pilots and the staff. Whether they are of value or not will be judged by his eyes and as of the moment, this girl who has latched herself onto his arm didn't encourage his view of the people.

"_Oh look_, Sasuke! He's back!" Sakura pointed to the skies where a black dot was becoming larger and more formed: it was a plane – an MiG-31 Foxhound (8) coated in blue and white with streaks of orange blurred by the speed of the fighter plane. The wind roared as it descended onto the ground. On the Foxbat's tail was an orange swirl engulfed with black flames as a sign of ownership over the plane. Upon a closer inspection and constant viewing, you would realize that that swirl there is _actually_ a fishcake engulfed in flames.

Sasuke let himself be pulled by Sakura. It had been a long time since he had last seen a Foxbat and this wasn't something he'll miss.

"That stupid little prankster! He'll get it NOW! He caused us _so much_ trouble with that rusted handcuff! Of course, it was a big help to you, Sasuke-kun, but you still got hurt by Tsunade-sama! _That's why_ you should never get Tsunade-sama angry!" Sakura waved her finger for a no. "It's only that _prankster_ that could _really_ face Tsunade-sama's anger! He's useful at times, you can say, but Naruto is still Naruto nonetheless!"

_Naruto?_ , Sasuke stopped, "_Did you say Naruto_?" he pulled Sakura who, in turn, blushed and giggled like a love sick girl. Sasuke sighed, growling a bit because of the girls silly antics. He quickly let go of the girl, almost rashly pushing the girl away from him.

"Yes, weird name, right? And to think he's a ramen addict as well!" Again, Sakura dragged Sasuke, leading him to the landing plane. She babbled on and on about Naruto, insulting him even but it was as good-hearted as she could get with the fetish she was under as of the moment.

All the while, Sasuke remained silent. It was not the stoic silence that had made millions of girls fangirling all over the world but it was shock. So many of his plans had shattered to pieces, so many of his dreams have been forgotten at the moment Naruto was mentioned. And all because he was the only one left.

"Naruto!" came Sakura's scolding voice.

The pilot climbed down, his bright black and orange jumpsuit did nothing to hide his being. Sasuke stiffened. He was wearing orange. It must be nothing but a coincidence. Orange is a common color. Anybody could love it.

The shiny black helmet prevented anyone from looking at his face. Only a foxy grin could be seen from his face. Gloved hands were put on either side of the helmet, tugging and pushing at the helmet until it finally released a lush of messy blonde hair. Bright blue eyes sparkled as he grinned his apology at Sakura, who was scolding him as of the moment.

Sasuke couldn't find his voice. He had long since believed that Naruto was dead ever since _that_ incident. He had tried so desperately to find him but it was like as if he never existed. Nobody knew him. Nobody would talk about him. Yet right in front of Sasuke…with that same feral grin and whiskered cheeks…with those same eyes of the sky…with those unchanging messy golden locks that never ceased to amaze him with its brightness (9).

"Na…ruto."

The blonde put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, pausing her for a moment. With curious eyes, he walked closer to Sasuke, helmet pressed tightly to his chest. He squinted his eyes and turned his head from one side to another. He walked a couple of steps backward and let out a wondering sigh that sounded more like a cat's purr.

Sasuke smirked. The blonde had not changed much for the past six years. "Dobe."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. The helmet he had been cradling fell without care onto the hard concrete road. It was sure to create a scratch or two. The blonde's breath hitched as though someone was trying to choke the life out of him. His jaw dropped, stupidly preventing air from coming in instead of the other way around.

"Sa...Sa…Sasu—"

* * *

(1) Let me just clarify this. It's HIS story. Not THIS but Sasuke's, okay?

(2) The descriptions of Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Sakura there are in Sasuke's view and analysis. We all know they're more than that, ne?

(3) The jeep isn't covered, okay? Nor does it have a door. What I mean is that the back board could be opened via flap process. It would be easier to drag Sasuke out of the jeep instead of carrying him, now wouldn't it?

(4) Imagine the Gentle Fist style but cruder. Take taekwondo lessons (or any martial arts for that matter). It'd be easier to describe stances and battle moves ;)

(5) Itoko cousin

(6) Sensei isn't always used for teachers. Just that. In case you ask XP

(7) This is not as light-hearted and humorous as it means. Simply said, to get the best answers, you must give the simplest questions ;P

(8) Go to the site I told you about: It's a 1983 fighter plane ;)

(9) I love Naruto, okay? So regardless of whose point of view it is, may it be Sarutobi's or Kisame's, I shall describe Naru like this.

Can you guess who were the ones chasing Sasuke? XD

Anyway, before any of you protest about the OOCness of Sasuke, let me just tell you something. I believe Sasuke is more human than we all believe and thus, he is feels fear and shows it to the only person he trusts: himself. Oh, and they're not shinobi here, dear, so you can't complain about stamina and whatnot. And his antics? Well, we could have a day-long debate over that :)

Digressing yet again…how do you like my first chappie? I'm using this fic to get a boost back into the fanfic world because I'm dmn tired of reading fics and I wanna write one. I actually have the sketches of the chapters up to the 10th so there's no need to worry about loss of ideas for a while. The chapters will come out a bit late though :)

As for the pairings, well…I do have a few ones in mind. I'm being swayed by my fetish over SasuNaru but I'm still wondering about it because I don't think I'll make a shounen-ai (much less yaoi and lemon) fic. Oh, and please persuade me to refrain from describing Sakura as a 'pink disturbance'


	2. Mercenary

**The Heavens Above**  
By: Naisho

**Summary:** (AU) Konoha is a rogue aerial base Uchiha Sasuke accidentally trespassed upon. To pay for his freedom, he is forced to work for them…as a mercenary pilot.

**Rating:** T

**DISCLAIMED**  
(If I owned Naruto, there would be random girls sighing contentedly every time Sasuke and Naruto make contact, physically or verbally.)

**Note:** This chapter is all about Sasuke and Naruto. I have to build a solid relationship between the two that's why I made them sorta-kinda childhood friends. Sorry for the cliché, dears. Aside from the two's relationship, this chapter will be used to show you guys the setting. You'll see Konoha! XDDDD

**2nd Note:** I forgot to mention this on the previous chappie. I DO NOT WATCH THE ANIME (fillers make me die). I've seen it a few times but that's only because the fighting scenes are better watched than read. I like watching the crack filler episodes but nothing else. All I'm trying to say is that this fic is MANGA-BASED.

* * *

**Mission II. Mercenary**

"Sa...Sa…Sasuke?" Naruto exhaled in an almost whistle. His tan skin was becoming a sickly brown and his azure eyes grew glassy enough to make them look like crystals. Sasuke took a step towards him. Naruto took a step back. Tired with the game, Sasuke raised his hand, ready to grab the blonde but—

"AAA**AAAHHHH**HHHHHHH!" The blonde jumped away from the brunette and sprinted across the runway, flailing his arms in the air. "I'M BEING _HAUNTED_ BY A DEAD UCHIHA!" Naruto screamed, calling the attention of everyone within the runway.

Uchiha Sasuke flinched, eyes narrowing at the running blonde. He quickly turned to the blonde's way, cursing under his breath, and ran after Naruto. He heard Sakura call his name in the confusion but she was ignored as he set all his attention and energy to the blonde that hadn't changed since the last time he saw him. He _should've known_ that idiot would act this way. He'd not only get himself killed but he'd get Sasuke locked away for life.

Naruto clumsily stumbled on his legs but he quickly recovered and continued his way to the sides of the runway where the hangars were. He called the first two names that came to his mind when he saw the hangars. "NEJIIIIII! SHIKAMARUUUUU!" he half-whined, half-screamed the names. He kicked the slightly open doors to its full extent and jumped in, tumbling over the scattered tool boxes and plane parts. The blonde looked up and saw Neji looking down on him. Quickly, he stood up and grabbed the Hyuuga's arm. "Help me, Neji!" he said, swallowing the nervous hiccups he developed, "_A ghost is chasing me_!" He shook a tan finger towards the runway.

The Hyuuga glared at the doorway even though he was sure their prankster's just having a little shock from taking on three shifts to compensate for his pranks and the sudden appearance of the five planes. "Ghosts don't exist, Naruto. You must be having an aftershock. You should go see Hinata-sama." Neji looked over his shoulder where Naruto had settled behind Shikamaru's sleeping form.

"No! No! NO! GHOSTS _DO_ EXIST AND THERE IS ONE HAUNTING ME RIGHT NOW!"

Shikamaru turned around. He groaned then sat up lazily, "Go hide somewhere else, Naruto. I'm sleeping." He rubbed the back of his head and stood up, picking a wrench on the way then throwing it to a toolbox.

"Ack, _he's here_! THE GHOST!" Naruto curled into a ball in a desperate attempt to be hidden in the shadows but his jumpsuit seemed to glow even more.

Sasuke put a hand on the door as though afraid it would close on its own. He was lightly panting. There was a trickle of sweat threatening to fall from his forehead. His charcoal eyes narrowed towards the blonde and he breathed his name with evident irritation, "Naruto." All he could see was Naruto and the pale hand that stopped him when he made a step towards the blonde did nothing to calm his mood.

"What do you want, _captive_?" Neji pushed the Uchiha but before they could get into a deeper brawl, his wrist was grabbed and thrown aside.

Sasuke walked towards Naruto who seemed to be mumbling a small prayer for his safety. He flinched at the blonde's childish acts. "Naruto." He called once again, this time more dangerous, but the addressed remained in his own little world. The Uchiha sighed, eyes closing in what seemed to be defeat. In a flash, he raised his fist and delivered one merciless punch on the blonde's head.

Needless to say, Neji and Shikamaru were quick to act. They were not letting this stranger abuse one of them – especially Naruto who gets into more than enough trouble on his own.

The blonde stood up straight, his palms rubbing his head in circles. "You _touched_ me! You _can touch_ me! YOU'RE NOT A GHOST! YOU'RE _REAL_!" Naruto beamed. He placed his hands on the brunette's shoulder and patted them softly, "I thought you were dead!"

"Dobe, why should you think that? _I_ should be the one thinking that about you since _you're_ the one that disappeared." Sasuke flicked at the blonde's forehead. "Still your stupid self, I can see. Six years didn't do much." He smirked, knowing how well he could aggravate the other boy with that statement.

"MOU! STOP CALLING ME THAT!" The blonde crossed his arms and pouted like a girl. "There was this fire and the base disappeared so…." He looked at Sasuke, eyes worried for a second then glaring the next minute. "Well, you should thank me you're still alive!" He beamed, extending his hand in the much asked for gratitude.

The brunette's eyes grew indifferent. He stared at the hand then delivered his coldest glare to its owner. "In your dreams, dobe. There's no need to give you something you don't deserve."

"Asshole." Naruto smiled. It was actually very reassuring to see that that bastard is still the same cold bastard he can remember. A little colder than usual but still the same – it's probably because there people he doesn't know in the hangar – "OH SHIT!" The blonde turned to Neji and Shikamaru.

Neji was standing stiff and straight with perfect posture just beside him. Shikamaru, on the other hand, had gone back to his habits. He was sitting on the concrete floor, leaning on the nearest well, seemingly asleep.

"Sasuke-_chan_!" A teasing foxy grin appeared on the blonde's face. It was nickname he loved to tease Sasuke to and one that the Uchiha loved to hate. There was this certain way that Sasuke's face would twitch and crunch that looked somewhere between hilarious and adorable…like as if he couldn't decide whether to shout in anger or just laugh it out.

"I guess I haven't introduced you to these guys yet." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. He grabbed the Sasuke's arm and swung him towards Neji. "This is Neji. He's a really good pilot, you know. Tsunade has actually promoted him to captain!"

"It's _Hyuuga_ Neji." Neji raised his hand and shook the Uchiha's. He gave a tight squeeze to the other as though to remind him of the incident earlier.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke gave Neji an equally tight squeeze. "We've met a while ago, didn't we, _captain_?" The slight twitch on one of Neji's eyes didn't go unnoticed to Sasuke.

"Yes, indeed."

"Really? How did you meet? It's not everyday I get to see Neji be a bit social." The blonde grinned.

Neither answered the question. They only kept staring at each other, trying to deliver their coldest stares.

"Anyway, Neji may be captain but the old hag's gonna give up her position to me sooner or later so I'm _still_ better than him!" Naruto triumphantly laughed. His obnoxious laughter caught the focus of the two stoic brunettes.

"In your dreams, dobe."

"I don't seem to recall _you_ ever being better than me in the first place."

The blonde blew the two a raspberry, "Gah! You're just jealous that's why you're acting mean!"

A loud yawn interrupted the bickering of the three.

"Troublesome…so troublesome…those two and that new guy just had to add to all the trouble…." Shikamaru mumbled. He was about to leave the hangar already. Such noise was causing his brain cells to die faster than he was letting them.

"Ah! Ah! Shikamaru! Don't leave yet! I haven't introduced you to Sasuke yet!" Naruto abruptly pulled the Uchiha away from Neji. The two shot their last pair of glares before taking away their attention from each other.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm Nara Shikamaru. You're Uchiha Sasuke. Introduction over." Shikamaru waved his hand, shooing away the blonde. "Too troublesome…." With those words, the genius was gone from sight.

Naruto squinted his eyes, his face copying that of a confused cartoon fox. "That Shikamaru…so lazy…." He jerked his head to his companion, "Anyway, despite being such a bum, he's a genius in strategies. Tsunade-baachan lets him arrange flight formations on some occasions but basically, he's one of our top mechanics." He beamed.

Apparently, Sasuke had no interest with the bum and the blind though he does find them annoying. He's more interested with how he can get out of this place but with Naruto here, it would be very complicated. He's not really excited about leaving a person he thought he would never see again, a person who just vanished into thin air.

"Hey, Sasuke? Where do you want to go? Should I tour you around the base? Or was that Sakura-chan's job? But I'm hungry—" Naruto's stomach gave a long and loud growl "—and tired. We should go to the town below and then you can buy me ramen while we talk! There's this really good ramen stand in the town and the owner's so nice to me he even gives me additional servings!"

_There's a town nearby? What kind of base would be so close to a town?_ , Sasuke asked himself and, knowing Naruto, said, "I'm not gonna pay for your food. Since your brain seems to be slower than usual, I'm a _captive_ here so I don't have anything with me."

"Ah, that's okay! You can put it in your tab and pay for it later!" Without further words, the blonde, with Sasuke being dragged along, dashed towards the town.

From the rooftops, Kakashi watched as Naruto led Sasuke out of the base. He chuckled at their childish bickering, "Ah, I guess that Uchiha's genuine. No doubt." He stood up and stretched his back. "Time to report!" He turned around and slowly crawled off the roof. The crates he jumped on seemed to have been empty, which caused him to crash onto the cemented grounds of the base.

"Kakashi-sensei, you should be more careful. I was putting those _empty_ crates away."

"Ah, Iruka-san."

- - -

The ramen house was full of people since it was near suppertime. Steam escaped from its curtains where the characters for "Ichiraku" were printed on. At one side of the counter sat Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Oh, so you were caught trespassing! I was too." The blonde slurped down the soup and gobbled down as much noodles as he can in his mouth. "But then they told me I was expected so I couldn't have been trespassing." He pointed his chopsticks at the Uchiha, "Didn't believe them. I fought them bad, you know! I kicked Kiba's ass and killed Shino's bugs…which had me scratching for months. Afterwards, Tsunade-baachan had me punished for excessive violence." A sigh, "I was only protecting myself."

"Usarukontachi, there was nothing to protect from in the first place." Sasuke smirked.

"Anyway, what about you, Sasuke? What are they making do? You _did_ trespass yourself."

"Nothing much. They're going to make me work for the base as a pilot but I'm still debating whether I'll play along or escape."

Naruto nearly choked on his ramen – wait, he _did_ choke on his ramen. Sasuke handed him a glass of water, mumbling a string of insults. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the escape part….

"ESCAPE? ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!" He slammed his ceramic bowl on the counter. "What's wrong with being a pilot? I thought you were the one who were so dedicated on becoming one!"

Sasuke frowned, "And you're the one who didn't _want_ to be one."

"Well, certain things happen and you can't survive in the world without a flow of moola!" Naruto rubbed his thumb on his index and middle finger. "You know, cash! How are _you_ gonna pay for _my_ ramen?" He ceremoniously lifted his bowl in praise.

The brunette shook his head, tapping a few fingers on his forehead, "I'm not really short of cash, you know. I just don't have it with me as of the moment. Besides, it's not like I can trust this base. I don't know it. It doesn't know me. Let it stay that way."

"But you trust me, right? And I trust you. We've both known each other for like forever!" Naruto's blue eyes grew deep in color, staring at the Uchiha's pools of black. "I'll own the base on day so if you trust me, then you _must_ trust the base! AND BE A PILOT!"

Sasuke's eyes twitched. He turned away from the blonde and towards the bowl of ramen he hadn't touched. _It's not like the situation would get worse if I stay._ , He glanced at the determined eyes of the blonde. _It won't be better either if I escape – probably even worse._ He closed his eyes tightly and weighed his situation, "Only until my debt is paid."

"**YES!**" Naruto jumped up, punching the air with a tight fist. Everyone in the store looked at him. He laughed in shame and slid down to his seat. Luckily, most of the customers recognized him and were not bothered at all.

"But I still don't plan on _staying_."

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Feh, you'll change your mind soon enough." He waved a hand, "Are you ever gonna touch your ramen? Look how sad it is for being ignored!" he grabbed the bowl and caressed its ceramic surface lovingly. "Don't worry. You won't be ignored in my hands!"

Sasuke spotted the empty _bowls_ near the blonde. _No wonder._ , he rolled his eyes. "Idiot. It's a bowl with noodles and soup. It won't respond."

Naruto gasped and hissed, "Dare you insult her!"

"It has a gender now?"

"Bastard!"

- - -

"Well, I'm glad you decide to play along instead of opposing the decision." Tsunade smiled. "But before we can put you into a plane, we require a test of skills. Obviously, we wouldn't employ useless pilots. It'll ruin Konoha's reputation! We're a rogue base with pride and fame that we cannot, by all chances, tarnish!"

Sasuke raised a brow, "My skills don't need to be tested."

"So you say, Uchiha, but procedure is procedure." The commander explained. She swiveled her chair towards the open windows behind her. "We'll pick someone from our crew. You'll get to meet most of our pilots." She turned to her desk and to the Uchiha who sat across her in an arm chair. She pressed a button on one of phones to her left. "Bring them in."

The door swung open and in came a woman with short black hair, a pen tucked behind her ear. A clipboard was in her hands, its numerous attached papers being flipped endlessly by her flustered fingers.

The commander cleared her throat loudly, "_Shizune._"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Shizune quickly shuffled to one end of the room. She looked at the Uchiha and bowed, smiling pleasantly. She lifted the board to her eyes and tapped on it with the pen. "Our best fighters are out on missions as of the moment so we can't have them for your testing. Adding to that, we wouldn't want you to die."

Sasuke's eyes twitched. It was wrong for them to underestimate an Uchiha.

"But don't worry, Uchiha-san. I'm sure they'll be able to challenge your abilities well enough." Again, Tsunade's secretary looked at him with that same pleasant smile. To Sasuke, it felt like mockery.

"Aburame Shino."

A boy of Sasuke's age came in. The shades he wore covered whatever expression that was in his eyes. He wore a similar jumpsuit to the ones he saw before. The only difference was that high collar covering most of his face. With a silent air, he went beside the secretary, hands in his pocket. Sasuke noted the little to no sound Shino's footsteps made.

"Inuzuka Kiba." A bark echoed from the door. Shizune sighed. "And Akamaru."

Sasuke couldn't help but cough a little. He had already thought that this guy was canine enough, especially with that furry hood he had on his had. To think that he would _actually_ have a dog _molecularly attached_ (1) to him.

Kiba glared at the Uchiha. He grumbled – but it sounded more like animal growls – as he went to his place beside Shino. With Tsunade's eyes at him, there's nothing much he can do as of the moment.

"Akimichi Chouji."

In came a _big-boned_ guy, stuffing chips in his mouth.

"Chouji, please, don't scatter chips on the carpet. It's hard to remove." Tsunade said exasperatedly. Chouji dived his hand into the bag and out comes a hand full of chips. He opened his mouth and practically devoured his hand. Crumpling the now empty bag of chips, he smiled. "All finished. No more problem." Tsunade sighed, shaking her head.

"Hyuuga Neji."

The pale-eyed captain came in. Sasuke glared at him. Neji glared back.

"Haruno Sakura."

The pink-haired girl jumped into the room, a bright smile donning her face. Sasuke mentally cringed. He knew that kind of smile. He has seen that so many times and he knew it was something bad, very bad. He never liked fangirls and it seemed like he's hating them more.

"Yamanaka Ino."

A blonde girl with blue eyes came in and squealed. She ran up to Sakura and the two started whispering and giggling.

"Girls, girls. Behavior please." Tsunade reprimanded, rolling her eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke's dark demeanor lightened at the mention of the familiar name.

"Shizune." The commander of the base called. She shook her head, "No, don't include that brat. It'll create more complications and he's not exactly the careful type."

Shizune shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, so you say." She swiped her pen across the clipboard, "But you know, he won't be happy about that. He'll be making hell for this."

"Yes, I know. That's why I told them not to let—"

"BAA-CHAN!"

"—him in. Damn those guards. Can't even keep a boy away."

The vulpine boy crashed into the office. He pushed Sakura and Ino apart and rushed towards Tsunade's table. The two girls screamed at him but he failed to notice. His palms pounded on the metal desk, making an annoying sound. "Baa-chan! Why aren't you letting me kick Sasuke's ass!"

Tsunade sighed, _Why now?_ "Well, in the first place, I don't think you can test someone like Uchiha Sasuke well."

"WHAT!"

_Wrong choice of words._ , Tsunade put a couple of fingers at the sides of her temple and started massaging in small circles. She was feeling a headache coming her way.

"She means you suck as a fighter pilot, idiot." The Uchiha smirked.

"You bastard! I can take you on any time, any day!" Naruto pointed a shaking finger at Sasuke.

"Keep on dreaming, it's free." Sasuke smirked.

Azure eyes sharpened to a crystal blue. Naruto growled, "It's not like _you_ have skills to show anyway! You didn't want to take the test in the first place! You wanted to escape from Konoha!"

"And if I remember correctly, _you're_ the one that didn't want to even _board_ a plane." Sasuke hissed. _Naruto, you idiot. You don't go around telling people escape plans of captives!_

The blonde turned to the commander, "Baa-chan! _I'll_ kick his ass!" he stuck his tongue out at Sasuke and stomped away from the office. At the doorframe, he turned around and glared at the Uchiha, "You'll be sorry you ever messed with me, you asshole!" with those words, he raced out of the office.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked, tapping her pen on the clipboard, "What are we going to do with Naruto-kun?"

Tsunade sighed. She leaned on the backrest of her leather armchair (the swivel type – because Naruto insisted). She put one arm across her chest and a hand on her forehead. "Let him do what he wants. We'll just do with what results he produces." She waved a hand and the other pilots exited the office. "I guess there's no choice but to see you play with Naruto."

_Play?_ , Sasuke's brow twitched.

"Shizune, bring Uchiha-san to the hangars. Let them use the spare planes. The F-106? (2) Yes, that should do. We don't want more damage than we can handle." Tsunade swiveled her chair away from Sasuke as Shizune politely led him out of the office.

- - -

"Are you _sure_ they'd be fine?" Ino asked for the 10th consecutive time. Her pale blue eyes focused on the two distant figures below: Sasuke and Naruto. She and the rest of the gang were sitting on the rooftop of one of the hangars. It was the best place possible to watch a mock battle from.

"_Yes, Ino_. They're using _soft_ paintballs as bullets. The best damage they could do to each other is a shallow dent." Shikamaru turned away from the blonde chick. He wouldn't have answered but the poking just kept increasing. Girls are so troublesome.

"But they're friends, right? Sasuke and Naruto?" She tugged at Shikamaru's work clothes. "And Naruto isn't really that great of a flier. You don't think they could hurt each other, now do you?"

The lazy mechanic mumbled under his breath. "No, they couldn't. And besides, there's a hospital nearby and Tsunade-sama's an elite medic." His usually lazy voice was mixed with annoyance. "You shouldn't bother with them. Naruto's skull is thicker than diamonds and that other guy? You don't even know him!"

"But I know he's hot."

Shikamaru remained silent. His eyes looked up at the clear blue skies. There weren't much clouds up there today. It would be a good day for the spectators: no clouds to block the view of the battle.

"When I was there, Naruto and that other guy didn't look like friends at all." Chouji threw away the empty potato chips bag and grabbed another from the paper bag beside him. His trash was picked up by Hinata who neatly folded it and put it in a plastic bag. "Please don't throw your trash like that."

"Oh, but you have to look _underneath the underneath_, Chouji. It's so obvious that beneath those harsh words, they were cooing each other with pure words of platonic love." (3) The fluttering of Ino's eyes and her mischievous smile made the rest think otherwise. For someone explaining friendship, she sure does act like a cupid.

"But when you meet a friend you have not met in a long time, you're supposed to happily run into each others arms then catch up with times in a warm cup of tea in a restaurant that brings back memories. So you cannot call that throwing of insults friendship." (4) Shino mumbled. His eyes were focused on the dragonflies floating a few inches away from his face.

Ino scowled. _Doesn't he say anything_ not _annoying?_

"Bah! Who cares?" Kiba threw his arms in the air and let his back fall lightly on the steel surface of the roof. "We just watch how Uchiha fares in the battle! Of course you can't expect much because he's just a runaway. But then, you can't expect anything from Naruto as well. He'd probably crash land into the forest or something!" He laughed loudly.

"Don't be so mean, Kiba. Naruto-kun does amazing things as well." Hinata stood up for the blonde fox.

The feral young man opened his mouth to – most probably – say something insulting and rude once again but the impact of a fist on his head shut him up. "OWWW!" Kiba turned and saw Sakura. "That made me _bite my tongue_! You could've made me mute, you pink monster!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and sat beside Ino. "Then the world would be a better place."

"Hey, aren't you supposed to help with the preparations?" Ino linked her arm with Sakura (5).

The pink-haired girl shook her head, "Lee-san offered to do the rest of my work so that I could watch the battle. Neji-san and Tenten are helping with the work as well so they won't be here." She giggled, "I guess Lee-san could be sweet sometimes as well. Oh, you could see Naruto and Sasuke-kun here." Her green eyes spotted the two figures from the rooftop. She could only see the silhouettes but Naruto's bright hair was hard to miss. It took only those few days of Sasuke's stay to figure out that wherever Naruto was, Sasuke would most likely be found with him.

"Yes, yes. That's why I chose this place." The two looked at each other. A knowing smile was shared between them. The next second, they were both fangirling.

"It's starting." Chouji said through a mouthful of chips.

Silence instantly came over everyone. The familiar whirring of engines could be heard somewhere below them. At the end of the runway, they could see a green figure (probably Lee) waving red flags in the air. Soon after, it was replaced by green ones and the roar of planes conquered the base.

The fight was starting.

- - -

Naruto grinned. It had been a long time since he played with Sasuke and it'll be the first time he'll play with him in the air – with planes to boot! A long time ago, this wouldn't have been possible. A long time ago, he wouldn't even think of boarding a plane, much less be a pilot. Well, not unless it was Sasuke flying the machine (6). The blue F-106 was ascending steadily in front of him. He turned his communicator on, "Ready to play, Sasuke?"

A lot of static was heard from the other line before Sasuke's voice came out in pauses, "You – _bzzt_ – idiot! We're – _bzzt_ – not here to – _bzzt_ – play!"

_Of course. Not here to play. Yep. Got that._ , Naruto chuckled. "Of course we aren't, Sasuke-chan. I'm here to kick your butt. You're here to lose." _But that doesn't mean I can't toy around._ "Oh, and if you need help with the communicator, just holler."

With a gust of wind tilting Naruto's green camouflaged F-106, Sasuke was out of sight. The blonde frowned. He couldn't see Sasuke anymore. It's impossible that _the_ proud Uchiha got pissed and ran away from him, right? Or worse, he _really_ agreed to take the test so that he could escape with the plane. _But Sasuke_ can't _be stupid enough to not know the tracking device attached to the plane!_ , Naruto gasped. _Don't tell me he gained brain damage!_ , His control of the plane faltered for a moment.

All the blonde's worries vanished as the rattling sound of a machine gun was heard from above. Blue eyes scanned the skies. A blue blur dropped from the heavens, almost hitting his left wing. His eyes followed Sasuke's plane. Glancing at his wingspan, he saw a large blotch of red paint. He frowned.

"I think you got that statement wrong, Naruto. _You're_ going to lose to _me_." Sasuke grinned. He could feel Naruto's frown grow into a childish pout. He knew just what would tick the blonde into chaos. "Dobe."

Naruto growled as a string of curses came out of Sasuke's speakers. The green plane dropped right behind Sasuke and quickly shot at him without waiting for a steady target. Sasuke barely avoided the attack – one escaped and hit his tail. He expected Naruto to attack but not without a steady target at least…not like he was gonna be one. He only hoped that the paint wouldn't be in that hideous blinding orange.

Sasuke increased his altitude and speed but his attempts at shaking the blonde away was futile. He smirked. He loved a challenge. Slowly, the rhythm of Naruto's style seeped into him. His blonde friend won't be much of a rival anymore. He pulled on his joystick. _Let's see you follow this_.

The blue F-106 started to ascend at a sharp angle. Naruto followed the plane with his eyes. "Don't tell me he can—" He gave a sharp tug at his own joystick, tailing his opponent.

"Don't try to follow when you can't." Sasuke said through his communication box.

"Watch me, bastard!"

The blue F-106 plane made a 360-loop in the air, Naruto following closely behind. A relieved sigh escaped Naruto's lips but the surprise hadn't ended yet. The plane he was following was still ascending. It disappeared overhead. He heard a couple of shots. He knew he was hit, probably near the tail. The sound of the roaring engine confirmed Naruto of Sasuke's plane behind him.

"Che. A double loop." (7) _Of course. Should've expected that._ , Naruto frowned as he took his plane in a zigzagging maneuver to shake the ever persistent Sasuke.

"No need to feel sour about it, dobe." The blonde could feel the sarcasm dripping with those words. How Sasuke could remain such a bastard in so-called enemy territory, he could never know.

"The battle ain't finished yet, asshole!" Naruto screamed through his communicator, "I'LL BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF YOU YET!"

The green Delta Dart's engine stopped. Sasuke watched in horror as it made a sharp drop to the ground. He forced his worries away from his mind as he made another loop. From that view, he saw the plane ascend at top speed towards him, firing the paint bullets until they ran out. He released the breath he was holding and smirked. _That idiot. What if the engine failed him and he died?_

"I GOT YOU NOW!" Naruto screamed in triumph as he raced head-on towards Sasuke. He could hear the rattling sound of his own cannons and Sasuke's. _And Sasuke's?_ , The blonde's eyes grew confused. He jerked his plane to the left but was too late. His windshield got splattered with red paint. The brittle glass cracked and the next paint bullet went past the glass and towards his face – his only defense: his helmet. The force of the wind brought sharp pieces of glass zooming towards Naruto. He let go of the stick and ducked, accidentally steering the plane downwards…straight to the forest beside.

"USURAKONTACHI! _PULL UUUPPPP_!"

At Sasuke's voice, Naruto grabbed the joystick and pulled hard. He didn't bother to lift his head for fear of getting blinded by the glass shards. He felt the vehicle decelerate. The ride suddenly turned bumpy as the plane hit the trees. Naruto held the joystick tightly, pressing his body closer. Finally, after a few minutes, the Delta Dart halted. He fell on his back with a sigh. He kicked the windshield open and climbed out carefully. Behind the plane, he could see a good 10 hectares of the forest destroyed, flattened by his eherm ever perfect landing.

"The old hag's gonna kill me for this." He chuckled nervously. Naruto took off his helmet, kissing it for saving him. He dusted off the glass crystals on his jumpsuit and picked off the bigger chunks from his shoulders. He unzipped his jacket, showing the black sleeveless undershirt and looked at his shoulders. "Well, at least if she _does_ kill me. My carcass won't have scars on it…aside from the ones on my cheeks." He shrugged, "Thank you, jacket, for saving me!" He lifted the piece of clothing and held it ceremoniously in front of him.

A strong gust of wind blew his jacket. Naruto looked up and saw the blue F-106 pass by him. From his cockpit he heard Sasuke's muffled shouts, "Don't fly a jet when you can't even land it!"

The blonde stuck his tongue out though he was sure Sasuke wouldn't be able to see him from that far. Naruto jumped to the left wing where he was greeted with Sasuke's first hit at him. He scowled, "I should've been the first one to hit him…that bastard." He kicked the painted spot. Then a thought struck him. With a foxy smile, he went to the cannons and grabbed a paint ball. It was a good thing they were hard enough to hold. He grabbed his jacket (which got stuck at the tail when it got blown away) and headed to Konoha with a chuckle and a grin.

- - -

"Whoa. I've never seen anyone pull out a double loop so easy." Kiba found himself saying as the blue F-106 halted down the runway. He shook his head, "What am I saying?"

"I guess you haven't seen Lee-san on a plane, right?" Sakura commented as she jumped to the ground. "He's good with aerobatics." Behind her, Hinata carefully footed the ground. As soon as Naruto crashed to the forest, they rushed down the rooftops – well, the girls. Ino had to drag Shikamaru and Chouji before they would move. Shino and Kiba just followed without care.

Kiba shrugged, "Guess not. After all, he's not really a pilot. He's Gai's helper."

"I wonder if Naruto-kun's alright." Hinata worriedly looked towards the forest. With her sharp eyesight, she saw the Uchiha jump down gracefully from the cockpit and rush towards the forest, throwing away his helmet. She gasped and hurried her steps.

Ino dropped Shikamaru and Chouji's wrists and rushed towards Hinata. She gave the brunette a push and they were off. Sakura jogged closely behind them.

"Girls and their worries. Naruto's fine." Shikamaru grumbled. He rubbed the back of his head and turned towards the hangars.

"When your friend is in trouble, you should come to his aid. If not, misunderstandings will be made and people will get hurt." Shino's solemn voice reached the lazy genius.

Nara stopped. He sighed and said, "So annoying…."

Chouji smiled and followed his best friend. Kiba shrugged his shoulder, not knowing what's so annoying about Shino. That bug-obsessed freak was actually more quiet than talkative so shouldn't they be thankful that he was talking?

- - -

When Naruto stepped into the base, the first thing he saw were the horrified eyes of Hinata, Ino and Sakura. They were staring at his neck, pointing shaking fingers at him. He blinked and swiped a finger at his neck. Red. He saw red. Naruto looked at his hand and the girls and shrugged. "What? It's only paint."

The first thing Naruto looked for was Sasuke. Sure the guy never liked to act like he cared about him but he knew Sasuke could never resist his charms. He smiled as he saw the Uchiha standing a few feet behind the girls. He skipped towards the brunette and stopped, hands behind his back, a couple of inches before him. "Sasuke."

"Usurakontachi."

"Hey! My greeting was decent!"

"Hn."

Naruto scowled but that didn't last for long as a mischievous smirk flashed on his face. "You know, Sasuke-chan. You look real pretty today."

Sasuke raised a brow, looking at the blonde as though he was crazy. _Maybe he hit his head when he landed…if you could call that a landing._ , He smirked. "Yes, and you look horrible."

"Why, thank you, Sasuke-chan. Would you like to look prettier?"

_Did he just say Sasuke-chan?_ , The Uchiha did a double take, "Are you—" but before he could finish a ball of orange hit him on the face. He spat out the bland taste of paint on his tongue. _Oh joy. The paint_ really _was orange. What a surprise._

"HAHA! TAKE THAT UCHIHA! THE LAST LAUGH WILL ALWAYS BELONG TO ME!" Naruto posed with his hands on his hips. Triumphantly, he gave a peace sign to the three girls but two fists knocked him down. He struggled to get up. Rubbing his temple, he looked at the fiery eyes of the culprits: Ino and Sakura. Figures.

"NARUTOOOO! YOU IDIOT!" Ino screamed, grabbing him by the collar and shaking the daylights out of him. He was passed to Sakura after the scream fest. "YOU JUST CRASHED AND THE FIRST THING YOU THINK ABOUT IS YOUR PRANK!" Sakura twirled the blonde around before letting him go. "AND TO SASUKE-KUN OF ALL THE PEOPLE! BAKA!" The duo yelled loud enough for the whole base to hear.

Naruto's head hit Sasuke's torso and knocked the two of them down. He grinned cheekily and sat up. "Sorry, Sasuke. Couldn't resist. After all, you _did_ break my windshield." He shrugged and stood up, the Uchiha following afterwards.

_Break your windshield?_ , Sasuke froze. He took a good look at Naruto. There was drying paint on Naruto's neck and chin but no serious wounds. Luckily, the blonde was too busy looking past his shoulder to notice. He would never live it down if the blonde ever finds out how worried he is about him…nor if he gets the blonde injured – for his sake and the commander's who seems to favor the blonde too much.

Naruto spotted Kiba and the others approaching and rushed towards them. "Oi, oi. You saw the paintball attack?" He grinned.

"You mean you getting clobbered by the Uchiha? Yep. Saw you get creamed." Kiba avoided the clumsy punch Naruto aimed at him before laughing at the blonde.

"No, the one a while ago – I mean, _look at Sasuke_!" Naruto pointed a tanned finger at the paint covered face of one Uchiha Sasuke. The blonde beamed at his 'fine piece of artwork' and nodded. A prank a day keep the—

"Once you're finished _admiring your masterpiece_. Tsunade-sama would like to see you in her office." Kakashi said from the rooftop of the nearest building. "Oh, get the Uchiha cleaned first before you go." The masked man nodded at a very pissed Uchiha. He turned to the rest of the group and smiled (from what was seen from his face). "You're dismissed…from…uh…whatever you're doing. Ja!" he made a mock salute and disappeared from view.

They all went their separate paths. The girls towards the control tower. The guys to the hangars. Naruto and Sasuke towards Naruto's bunk (to get cleaned…wouldn't want Tsunade to get angry). All with one thought in mind:

What was with Kakashi and rooftops?

* * *

(1) It's a phrase I give to couples who are…well…too attached to each other (e.g. Faust and Eliza from Shaman King) but obviously, it's used in a different sense in that sentence…not unless somebody out there thinks that Kiba and Akamaru should get married. 

(2) Convair F-106 Delta Dart 1959 fighter plane of the US Air Force – excellent dogfighter with a max speed of 2020 km/h. The Foxhound (Naruto's plane, in case you don't remember) is from the Soviet Union/Russia (max speed 3000 km/h). If you guys want the Mach speed, just say (though I doubt you will…).

(3) If Ino would talk like this more, I would worship the ground she walks upon XD

(4) I'm basing the way Shino talks with his appearance in Chapter 282 of the manga: "Even though we met long ago, you should remember the face of your comrades because it can hurt the person who talks to you." Shino to Naruto. Don't you just love his annoying way of speaking? XD

(5) Friendship, dearies.

(6) I don't care if you interpret it as platonic or romantic. There's a reason behind saying that. You'll find out in either chapter 9, 15 or 16. BTW, I plan to have 17 chapters for this fic and maybe an author's note at the very end.

(7) Surely you know what a double loop is. From what I heard, it's very hard to execute so…yay Sasuke for doing it --; Haha.

- - -

I'm sorry. I really can't help it but I would probably write this with subtle shounen-ai – so subtle you wouldn't even notice it unless you're looking for it. Unfortunately, I won't focus on the relationship of Sasuke and Naruto. I don't want to make this too romantic (duh, _GENRE: ACTION/ADVENTURE_!). Let's all ignore the pairings and follow the plot, ne?

- - -

Oh, and I don't like Ino and Sakura fighting over Sasuke. It's too childish. They're roughly 18 here so it wouldn't fit their mentality. Fangirling is a universal habit. I'm 17. I fangirl…in public…and embarrass myself in process, yes. So should you XDXDXD


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